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Mini Taco Pizza

Once upon a time, our local Pizza Hut had a little lounge in the back called the Grog Shop, more of a bar. And in that bar they served taco pizza. I would occasionally take my kids there, with much glare from other customers, and we would devour a large taco pizza. That was a treat to take them BUT it was a better treat that I made them at home too!!

I would buy one of those already prepared pizza crusts *insert a shudder, and build my taco pizza with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese and salsa. The kids LOVED it! I often wonder if they remember that??

Now, I make my taco pizza on a quesadilla shell. Here’s what I do…

I like to use a Gluten Free corn tortilla, but I have also used flour tortillas/soft taco shells and they work great. I like to fry them up a little, just enough to get a little crispy. I have this weird thing about wraps, quesadillas, etc. I TOTALLY dislike the uncooked floury taste and texture so I have to crisp them up. You can omit this step if you’re not crazy weird like me.

For the flour tortillas I would just use a small amount of olive oil in a fry pan over a medium heat and lightly crisp each side. With the corn tortillas I prefer using a little more oil, almost enough to simmer the shell, and again lightly crisp each side. It only takes a few minutes and I flip it around on both sides a few times.

I then put them on a pizza stone and smother them with refried beans. I have dressed the beans up, depending on my mood, with different ingredients. I’ve chopped jalapeno’s, added some taco seasoning (I now use my own concoction), cayenne pepper, whatever spice I feel like at the time.

Pop the pizza stone with the smothered shells in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the beans are hot to the touch. The shells will crisp up a little more too. You could also put them directly on your oven rack, I’ve never done that tho. I am a creature of habit!!

When they come out of the oven, here is where you can be creative and build your own “personally designed taco pizza“. You could add cooked and prepared taco meat if you want but I never use the taco meat mixture with the beans. It’s just how my taco pizza rolls. No meat. Just beans. Top with shredded lettuce, drizzle with your favorite salsa, then comes the cheese and chopped tomatoes.

Top with sour cream and/or guacamole. I have already put them back in the oven to melt the cheese a little more, that is quite good as well but I am usually too hungry for these and I just CAN’T wait to devour them!!